Qatar says Iran didn’t warn of missile attacks, no comms with Tehran

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says there is currently no communication between Doha and Tehran.

Qatar says Iran did not notify it of incoming missile attacks as Tehran conducts a retaliatory campaign across the Gulf sparked by the United States and Israel’s attacks on Iran.

Qatar is one of 12 countries that Iran has targeted in the Middle East, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said at a news conference on Tuesday that Iranian targets were not limited to military sites but included all Qatari territory, adding that there was no communications with authorities in Tehran.

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“Qatar was surprised by these unjustified attacks,” he told reporters.

Al-Ansari said Qatar’s military thwarted attacks on Hamad International Airport in Doha as Iran pressed on with its strikes for a fourth consecutive day after the launch of the US-Israeli war on Saturday.

“There were attempts to attack Hamad International Airport. They were all thwarted. … The missiles were downed by our defensive measures, and none of them reached the airport,” al-Ansari said. The spokesperson said almost 8,000 people were stranded in Qatar due to airspace closures caused by the war.

In addition, al-Ansari noted that Iranian jets were shot down on Monday after entering Qatari airspace despite being warned.

They were heading for Doha before they were targeted, and authorities are still searching for their crews, he added, without elaborating further.

Al-Ansari said the Iranian ambassador in Qatar was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and told the attacks could lead to a “deterioration” of relations between the two countries.

QatarEnergy to stop downstream production

After suspending liquefied natural gas (LNG) production on Monday, QatarEnergy decided to stop production of associated products.

“QatarEnergy is stopping the production of some downstream products in the State of Qatar, including urea, polymers, methanol, aluminium and other products,” the firm announced on Tuesday.

On Monday, the firm ceased production of LNG and associated products in facilities in Ras Laffan Industrial City and Mesaieed Industrial City due to “military attacks”.

Several explosions have occurred in Qatar over the past few days, and its Ministry of Defence said it detected the launch of three cruise missiles, 101 ballistic missiles and 39 suicide drones towards its airspace since Saturday.